Hillary’s Tax Return Problem: She Claimed Her Illegal Server As A Tax Deduction

A deeper look into Hillary Clinton’s tax returns reveals she may have committed two federal crimes.

Not only was her illegal email server built using campaign funds, the Clintons claimed it was for personal use while also claiming it as a business expense.

The Daily Caller’s Chuck Ross reports:

The payments to (Clinton IT consultant Bryan) Pagliano were revealed in notes released on Friday from his Dec. 22 interview with the bureau.

Investigators cited documents showing that the Clintons made a $5,000 transfer to Pagliano in 2009, and another in June 2011 for $8,350.83.

The Clintons’ publicly available tax filings show that the former first couple deducted similar amounts from Bill Clinton’s speechmaking income for computer maintenance expenses in those same years.

The Clintons also depreciated computer equipment that was put in service in June 2011 — the same month Pagliano traveled to the Clintons’ home in Chappaqua, N.Y. to work on the server — as well as at other times when major changes were made to the off-the-books email system.

There could be another legal issue with Clinton’s email system.

“The IT director for Hillary Clinton’s 2008 campaign, Pagliano used equipment left over from that failed effort to build the system, which was activated in March 2009,” the Daily Caller reports.

It is generally illegal to claim business expenses as tax deductions for government work.

“It goes without saying that it is improper to take a tax deduction for a server or anything else which was used or maintained by the government,” Ken Boehm, the president of the National Legal and Policy Center, tells The Daily Caller.

But Clinton’s possible legal problems don’t stop there.

It is generally illegal to use equipment paid for by a political campaign for personal use. Doing so would allow politicians to use cash from donors for personal benefit.

“…those running for federal office – including presidential candidates – must abide by strict FEC guidelines when it comes to their extra campaign money. They can donate an unlimited amount to a charity or political party. They can also, within limits, make contributions directly to other candidates. A campaign committee can give up to $2,000 per election to each candidate,” The Annenberg Public Policy Center reports.

“What candidates can’t do with leftover money is use it for personal expenses,” the Center notes.

Campaign equipment is generally treated the same as cash under campaign finance law.

Otherwise, campaigns could expend their cash on equipment and then transfer it to the candidate, who could use it for personal purposes or sell it for personal cash.

Clinton could have legally transferred the server to her personal business.

But there is no record of the server being transferred to any business, and Clinton told Pagliano it was a personal device.

It is also illegal to claim business deductions for personal equipment.

While the FBI may not be interested in Clinton’s server, there appears to be a good case for the IRS to take a look.